The Pilgrim Path---Ephesians 4: 22 – 26

“…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”

“PUT AWAY FALSEHOOD…”

From John Calvin: God must guide our hands, our feet, our eyes, our ears, one way or another, in order that we may be well armed on all sides, that the devil may not be able to make any breach into us. That is what we have to bear in mind, in order that we may not regard ourselves as being such clever people that the hearing of a matter but once is enough for us. For we shall wonder to see how the devil will nevertheless take us by surprise in many ways. And therefore let us be prudent enough to listen carefully to all warnings that are given us, because there is nothing in them that is superfluous.

And since St. Paul had spoken of truth, he says “put away lying, and speak every man in truth.” He uses the word “truth” here in a different way from what he did before. For in calling holiness and righteousness true he meant that there ought to be no dissimulation or disguising, but a transparent simplicity, so that when God looks as a witness into our hearts, he may find no double dealing in us. That was the manner in which the word “truth” was taken before. Now he speaks of the truth that ought to rule among us when we do business with one another. We must be faithful and trustworthy in all our business and affairs, and we must use no guile. And yet that is not enough, but we must note that this truth of which St. Paul speaks is such a plain dealing that we lay open all that is in our heart, if need require, and in no way attempt to get other men’s goods by subtlety and cunning, or profit ourselves by another man’s loss…

From Frank E. Gaebelein: Tongue control? It will never be achieved unless there is first of all heart and mind control…When any Christian comes to the point of yielding to the LORD---in full sincerity, cost what it may---control of his thought life, the problem of managing his tongue will be solved, provided that such a surrender goes deeper than the intellect and reaches the emotions and will. For the Bible makes a distinction between mere intellectual knowledge of God and the trust of the heart.

From Lehman Strauss: The garment of falsehood must be put away, since it does not become the new man in Christ. Since we are all members of the same body, we are exhorted to give expression to truth when dealing with one another. Honest dealing in word and deed, and not deceit and hypocrisy, should characterize every saint. Let sincerity mark every form of communication among us. Misrepresentation, half-truth, pretense, and deceit are practices of the ”old man.” They are characteristic of the devil and his children (John 8: 44).

From Thomas Brooks: The heart of a holy man rises against secret sins. He rises against wickedness in the dark, against folly in the corner, and against sin in the closet. When Joseph was tempted to be secretly wicked, his heart rose against it…

From John Duncan: Love---the greatest of all the graces, greater than faith, greater than hope.

An Update from The Voice of Ukraine:

We are seeking to raise $2,000,000 to bring relief to the refugees, support to the brave pastors who remain with their churches and make plans for rebuilding. We have a large team already at work in the western city of L’viv and are partnering with churches and mission teams in neighboring countries…When the war is over, we want to be able to supply funds for rebuilding churches and the homes of church members. We also want to help rebuild the communities in which our churches are located. In the event we are able to use these funds to rebuild, we will seek to use it as aid to the underground church and for ongoing work in adjacent countries…As of this writing the vast majority of EPCU church members in the eastern and central parts of Ukraine have left their cities, hoping for safety in the waiting arms of their brothers and sisters in the western area of their country or beyond. Although these dear ones and their families are the primary focus of our relief efforts, we will open our doors to anyone who needs our help. We want to do all we can to be the body of Christ to the vast Throng of displaced and fearful Ukrainians who are probably wondering where God is right now.

For the Glory of Christ,

Jon Eide

MTW Ukraine

mtw.org/ukraine-crisis

Grace and Peace in Jesus, the Only Redeemer of broken and wretched souls, Pastor Jason